Think i'm giving up with the cats!

Grebe

I know this sounds bonkers but my mum swears that the best cat repellent is good old fashioned Mothballs! She had been having terrible problems with her neighbours cats using her garden as a loo and scenting everywhere but since she put down the mothballs they have never come back. I have no idea where she discovered that they work but work they do. Hope this helps.

loulou41

I heard mothballs work as well. Where does she put the moth balls, my problem is the lawn, can they be placed there just as it is? I am just a bit concerned whether it is harmful when in contact with grass or plants. Thanks

Grebe

She just tosses them round the garden on top of the soil. They haven't harmed the plants at all. I don't know about grass as she has none in her garden, but I suppose you could try a few in a discreet corner of the lawn for a few days and see what happens.

Had a quick look round tinternet and according to an American site Mothballs will kill the grass. Also see that mothballs are very toxic to cats so it might be an idea to place them in wee plastic dishes with holes in them to let the scent out but not let the cats try to eat them. Although if they are that effective as a repellent I cannot see why the cats would eat them.

gabyjane

Hmm heard mothballs a few times now so will try and get some thanks. It is this one area of garden that is annoying me they can go anywhere else for all i care!
Thanks

boo80

Has anyone else tried the Growing Success cat repellent? We get so many cats in our garden, but with an 18 month old son who puts everything in his mouth I don't want to risk using anything potentially harmful..

Vibrant

I've used Growing Success cat repellent for years and it works pretty well. You just need a light sprinkle over affected areas, so it goes much further than the gels, etc.
It's harmless to plants, animals, children etc, but you will notice a slight smell. It needs reapplying quite often and rain washes it away.
When it was first produced, it was much stronger smelling, but the manufacturer seems to have watered it down a bit in recent years, so it doesn't work as well as it used to.

dollparts

So glad I came across this thread! My little darling Mrs Tibbs has taken a fond liking to my flowerbeds and it's driving me crazy.

She's managed to unearth a few bulbs here and there by digging after she's delivered her 'package'

I planted a load of bareroot plants a few months back and about half of them are turning from the twig looking things they were into plants but no way near as many as I planted so I think she's dug over those too!

This week I was at my wits end sifting through the soil to unearth the shoots that had been buried and I ended up taking the spare shelves out of my greenhouse and gently laid them over the young plants slotting them over the growth really carefully.

She's given up with the covered parts and has now taken up residence in a spare patch of a flowerbed out of the way so it's not too bad.

Trouble is it's only a temporary measure because the plants will get too big once they start growing in the coming weeks but it will give them a fighting chance until then.

I found some cheap poly tunnels on ebay last night and I will use some fleece and pegs to secure the ends so she can't get in.

It may work, I really hope it does because I need to sow seeds and plant summer bulbs very soon because I don't want to fork out on loads of bedding plants and end up spending a fortune!

cherry76

Try moth balls!!

janibrown

Chilli Flakes and Chilli Powder work wonders it make take a few try's but they will get the hint and will give up in the end white pepper can also work but chili is the best

hatewashingmachines

Plant some coleus canina ornatus otherwise known as the Scardy Cat plant, it has a scent that cats and dogs dont like